Posted on: November 26, 2008

Celebrity Health: Suzanne Somers

A TV icon turned thigh master sets her sights on bettering women's health through better hormones

By Dave Waldon
CTW Features

It's been more than 30 years since Suzanne Somers burst upon the scene as the bubbly Chrissy Snow on the hit sitcom "Three's Company." At the time, the beautiful, blond actress was perceived by some to be just another pretty face, a mirror of her daffy TV character. Today, that face remains nearly as beautiful as ever, but no one can call Somers an intellectual lightweight. The 62-year-old performer has broadened her horizons to include a thriving career as a pitch woman for her own line of varied products (the Thighmaster was just the beginning); and as a best-selling author of books written to promote different methods of achieving better health, fitness and aging. Her latest book, "Breakthrough: Eight Steps to Wellness"(Crown, 2008) continues Somers' impassioned promotion of alternative medicine, including hormone therapy, something she believes in with her soul.

"If you look around, people are getting sicker and sicker practicing the same old medicine," says Somers, explaining why now was the time to write about this sometimes controversial topic. "'Breakthrough' provides a serious look from highly credentialed doctors into the world of regenerative medicine - protocols that heal and support the immune system and ultimately create robust health."

For "Breakthrough," Somers interviewed some 20 doctors who are involved with different methods of alternative and anti-aging medicine about the different hazards that can wreck havoc on people's health, and the different ways that the damage can be prevented and reversed. What she discovered during her research, she says, reinforced her belief about what has gone wrong with the "traditional" health-care system - and it's not just about insurance and access.

"I learned that most conventional doctors are practicing 50-year-old medicine and in the hip pocket of [the pharmaceutical companies]," Somers says. "Basically, they are practicing 'disease care,' meaning that you wait until you are sick and then go to the doctor, and he gives you a prescription. I practice 'health care,' where I go to the doctor regularly to maintain peak health ...[They are reluctant] to acknowledge and explore new protocols that would enhance doctors' ability to heal. They are stuck in the past."

Somers, for her part, doesn't seem to have that problem when it comes to her own medical needs. During her successful bout with breast cancer in 2001, she combined surgery and radiation with more offbeat treatments in lieu of the more standard chemotherapy. And she is a proponent of the use of hormones as a way to maintain balance in the body, particularly when it comes to mature women. Somers is especially fond of bioidentical hormone replacement, which involves the use of steroids to counter the effects of menopause and conditions that result from the aging process, and to restore vitality. Bioidenticals are a regular part of Somers' personal health regimen, along with other components such as yoga and a healthy diet. She credits the hormones with keeping her stressful and busy life on an even keel.

"Without [the hormones], all the supplements in the world will not help much and certainly will not provide health and great quality of life," Somers says. "Once a woman has balanced her hormones and body chemistry, she will not believe how great she can feel all the time. She will never have night sweats or other nasty symptoms of menopause. She will sleep peacefully eight hours a night, she will radiate health and her libido will come roaring back with a vengeance."

Somers is quick to point out that the bioidentical hormones she promotes are not the same as the synthetic hormones, such as Premarin, that are more commonly used these days.

"Even though the Women's Health Initiative said that synthetic hormones might be fatal, doctors keep prescribing them because the drug companies keep making them and assuring doctors that they are OK," she says. "Not one person has ever been harmed or died from bioidentical hormones, because they are biologically identical to the hormones the human body makes and are being used to replace what has been lost in the aging process. The fake hormones are made from pregnant horse urine, so they can be patented. They have nothing in common with the human hormone."

Somers also has found a glaring lack of knowledge among physicians about the effectiveness of bioidentical hormones or, even, at times, their existence. It's somewhat surprising to her considering the expanding market for such alternative treatments.

"Alternative or regenerative doctors make much more money than conventional doctors, and their patients are happy to pay it to achieve peak health," she says. "Conventional doctors know this, but they are either too lazy to learn new things or believe that if they didn't learn it in medical school, it's not worth learning."

It's Somers' hope that, through further education, both patients and physicians will learn more about the benefits of bioidentical hormones and other techniques that may be off the traditional path of treatments.

"When your hormones are in perfect balance, your brain recognizes you as being a reproductive woman and wants to keep you around and healthy."

And for those older women who may fret about what hormones might do to their bodies in the long run, she has a playful disclaimer that could be out of the Chrissy Snow library of anecdotes: "Don't worry - you can't get pregnant!"